Thursday, February 16, 2017

Play with a Purpose: Story Play

Below is an article I wrote last year for theNortheast Storytellingorganization. I was honored to present
a new workshop, Story Play, at their 2016 Conference in Amherst, MA.

This year, I am equally honored to bring this workshop, based on my award
winning book,Story by Story:
Creating a Student Storytelling Troupe, to theNational Storytelling
Conferencein Kansas City, MO. The theme is"All Our Voices: Stories of
Immigration and Migration"and
there will be workshops and intensives on storytelling, business, education,
cultural heritage and so much more.
For information go to http://www.storynet.org/conference/ .Workshop
descriptions will be added very soon so be sure to bookmark the site.

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from
serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play
is really the work of childhood.”- Fred Rogers

Play with a Purpose!From the moment my students stepped into the room for the
after school storytelling program, ‘after school’ being the operative words, I
was already at a disadvantage. By then they had been sitting at their desks for
almost five hours, with only 20 minutes for recess, barely any time at all to
add movement and play to their day. How could I keep them motivated through 13
weeks of class, especially for those students who return year after year? I quickly learned that play and
movement were two key ingredients.

While I began to create different worksheets to
help them sequence and visualize their folktales, I knew it was equally
important to get them on their feet, let their bodies feel the stories.
Sometimes it was a combination of both. One of my newest creations,
Exaggeration Station, was a perfect marriage of the two. The objective is to
encourage them to play with the elements of their story.

I prepared a worksheet for the students to complete before the
game, which mirrored the nine poster boards placed around the room; this gave
them a chance to think through their choices. Since we were in the school
library I used the book stands for the poster boards, placing them on the
shelves, no higher than eye level. They were organized in a pattern that wove
them up and down the aisles so the children could easily move through the game.Weimmediately followed up with
Walk the Talk, another movement activity, and they quickly incorporated what they
discovered while playing Exaggeration Station.

More than once I've reconfigured a childhood game into a
new classroom activity. Sometimes inspiration comes in an instant in the
most unexpected places. One day I was working with my third grade storytelling
troupe. We were using the school hallway for a version of The Virginia Reel.
Rather than standing still and facing each other, they were paired up, walking
side by side, one teller sharing their tale with their partner. As they were
executing the activity I suddenly noticed two girls reach out to
hold hands. Immediately, the memory of an old schoolyard game popped into
my head and a brand new activity, Red Rover, Red Rover Send Story Right Over,
was born.

Another day we began by completing the written exercise, Language Ladders.
Immediately after finishing their worksheets I cued up the music and we began
to “Dialogue and Dance!” By merging the tactile exercise of writing, then
quickly moving to an interactive game utilizing their new story dialogue, it
reinforced and stimulated their work.

After fifteen years of teaching I still continue
to think about new ways to bring movement into the classroom. It’s no surprise
we all love to play so why not incorporate as much as possible into our day and
play with a purpose!

Want to add some more play to your classroom, to
your storytelling? Whether you are a beginning or experienced storyteller, you will find something to add to your story toolbox. Register for my workshop, Story Play, at the
National Storytelling Conference this summer and I promise we will have fun...and chocolates!

Please note, websites change
at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I
cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links. At the time of this
posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen
Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either
electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written
permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com.
Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter,
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support and personal integrity.